Maybe an unpopular opinion, but I actually liked away goals. It encouraged the away team to be aggressive rather than try and close up defensively and grab a 0-0 draw or try and limit the damage if already down.
2026 FIFA World Cup Thread
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This was their backup goalie.
Unfortunate for BELG. They also had an important starter announced unavailable before the game.
Unfortunate for BELG. They also had an important starter announced unavailable before the game.
OrangeBlue98
Iowa is not in a great spot right now (LvilleILL1)
- Des Moines, IA
I am with you. The only thing I didn’t like about the application of away goals rule was that it still counted in extra time. So if the away team scored in extra time, then then home team had to score twice.
Use away goals for 180 minutes, then don’t use it for extra time.
bdutts
- Houston, Texas
Agreed
USMNT supporters gotta feel a little better after seeing Belgium compete today with Onana out (torn ACL on Monday), Tielemans getting hurt in warm-ups, and Courtois having to be taken off due to injury in the 2nd half.
South Africa midfielder Jayden Adams has passed away at the age of 25. He started in South Africa's first two group stage games and came off the bench against South Korea. He did not play in the Round of 32 match against Canada. Adams' grandmother passed away prior to the match against Czechia.
Brutal. Wow.
Illini92and96
- Austin, TX
Juice, it’s just people having fun thinking of ways to create more action and resolve games without getting to penalty kicks, which is really not tied to the game. Penalty kicks in soccer would be like a 5 free throw shoot off in basketball.
Basketball has an attempt to score every 30ish seconds, and players can come out when they get tired. Soccer OT often turns into a bunch of tired folks trying to avoid a mistake and a counterattack goal. 2 hours of 0-0 or 1-1 can be painful to watch. Like a 3-0 football game or a Bruce Webber era Penn State hoops game.
One of the dumbest plays of the tournament
Agree. Stones' defending was perfection but still should have been overcome with decisiveness. I think Haaland trailing a bit led to Sorloth unwilling to commit to... anything. Should never doubt feeding him, or, if you're going to go, go!
Disgusting red card called against Swiss. Just brutal.
The 2nd yellow against Embolo may seem harsh, but that was absolutely clear simulation, he threw himself to the ground like he'd been shot with zero contact. The rule book is clear that simulation should get you a yellow card. If anything, I don't think enough players get carded for simulation, which is why it's still so rampant in the game.
Man, the referees and their cards strike again in the Argentina vs Switzerland match. Absolutely zero reason to give the Swiss player a yellow there.
I have watched guys for almost a month, falling down for no reason, pretending they were shot, just to get up and sprint the rest of the game.
Now, the ref switches yellows and the Swiss player gets sent to the locker room for doing nothing differently from anything that has gone on in any of these matches.
FIFA is doing everything possible to get Messi into the finals.
I have watched guys for almost a month, falling down for no reason, pretending they were shot, just to get up and sprint the rest of the game.
Now, the ref switches yellows and the Swiss player gets sent to the locker room for doing nothing differently from anything that has gone on in any of these matches.
FIFA is doing everything possible to get Messi into the finals.
You posted the same time I did and I'm sorry, it didn't just seem harsh, it was brutal. He needed to make it right to pull the yellow from the Argentine player and let the play end there. You don't alter the entire tournament, when all these guys do is "simulate" fouls. Every soccer game is a comedy of players acting like they've been shot to draw a cards. It's what drives people nuts, yet they pick the 70th minute in a tie game, in the quarterfinal....to enforce it?
The only option that the Swiss have now is to play defense through the rest of regulation and two OT halves and get to a penalty shootout, which you hate.
The ref has to understand time, score and severity. On the heels of what happened to Egypt, this is highly suspect.
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It is by rule a yellow card. Once you determine he took a dive there the ref literally cannot do anything except give him a yellow card. That's the rule.
Just can't disagree more. If it's a yellow card it's a yellow card and it doesn't matter when in the game it happens, what the score is, or if the guy already has a yellow. Drives me crazy when a player already on a yellow gets special treatment because the ref is too scared to send someone off. It's Embolo's job to remember he already has a card and keep himself from getting another, not the ref's.
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The announcer said that if a yellow hadn't originally been given to the Argentina player, then there would be no yellow given to the Swiss player following video review.
Because they originally gave Argentina a yellow, that yellow now has to be flipped. But if no yellow was ever given, then it'd stay 11 vs 11.
I think that's what the rules guy said.
I don't mind enforcing the rule, but man.....enforce it all tournament! Every game would have 20 yellow cards if they enforced that particular rule. Every, single, game. I'm all about calling the game strictly by the book, but if you're going to do that and not allow for any deviation......it needed to start in game 1 and not minute 70 into game #125(or whatever it is).It is by rule a yellow card. Once you determine he took a dive there the ref literally cannot do anything except give him a yellow card. That's the rule.
Just can't disagree more. If it's a yellow card it's a yellow card and it doesn't matter when in the game it happens, what the score is, or if the guy already has a yellow. Drives me crazy when a player already on a yellow gets special treatment because the ref is too scared to send someone off. It's Embolo's job to remember he already has a card and keep himself from getting another, not the ref's.
It’s FIFA….its rigged. It’s fixed for a FRA and ARG rematch. No doubt
Actually, I believe what he meant was that if there hadn't been a yellow there wouldn't be a video review. They don't review common fouls. But yellow cards can be reviewed. Once they review the video and see that Embolo dived, there is no choice but to give him a card.
This is also the difference with the other situations where someone appears to dive and nothing is done (when you see the ref do the "get up" motion). There's always some plausible deniability that "hey, you weren't fouled but maybe you tripped over your own feet or fell due to some legal jostling or some contact following a legal tackle." No plausible deniability in this situation. Clear dive, clearly meant to fool the ref.
So what is the thinking here, the ref saw the dive in real time and gave the Argentina player a yellow, just so he could review the VAR and switch it to the Swiss player?
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